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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 5 Hansard (2 May) . . Page.. 1367 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

TransACT, Telstra or whoever else is providing broadband services. In return for a community service payment from the government those providers can undertake to provide access to their broadband network for those in public housing or on a low income base or for health care card holders. Something along those lines would be a very practical step in ensuring that the digital divide was addressed.

I return to the issue of hardware for a moment. Another issue that needs to be addressed is having technology in your home so that you are able to access the information services you need. Other states and other jurisdictions around the world are grappling with this problem and are seeking to address it in very practical ways-some better than others. I am not particularly advocating any one of these, but I would highlight some of the measures that are being taken.

For example, the government in Singapore, a city state very much like us but with a much larger population, have a recycled computer scheme whereby computers no longer required by business are refitted and provided to people so that they can go on line. That is a practical scheme which provides a level of access.

In Australia we have seen perhaps one of the best measures-the Australian Council of Trade Unions' scheme for people on lower incomes to get cheap access to a home PC and Internet connection. That is a scheme provided through the membership of a trade union. That is another good reason to be a member of a union. The ACTU scheme provides a level of access to information technology. Often the difficult barrier for people to overcome is getting a PC in their home.

The government could be looking at a range of measures in addressing the digital divide. The measures we have seen to date only continue to walk along the same paths we have followed to date-touch screens, information kiosks and training for people in particular categories, such as older people or young people. That is all fine. Those are all commendable steps, but they do not address the substantive issue of getting online access for people in the way that is most convenient for them, so that they do not have to catch a bus or drive a couple of kilometres to use a computer. They do not need to leave the confines of their home. That is one of the key challenges with the digital divide.

The only other point I would like to make in the time remaining is about the capacity for those in a range of occupations in government to use, and become familiar with, information technology. The digital divide is not just about access. It is also about knowledge and the ability to use information technology. Many employees of the ACT government are not, as part of their day-to-day work, involved in the use of information technology-for instance, bus drivers, people working in the Parks and Conservation Service and people who are working in CityScape services who are doing manual labour tasks or other tasks that do not involve them sitting at a desk and using a computer.

What are the responses from government in addressing the capacity for those people to learn about information technology, to understand the uses of it and become practically involved in using that technology and therefore being able to access the range of services and facilities that are available on line? There need to be measures to address those issues as well. To date we have not seen those.

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